Love as Strong as Death
by Smitty91
Summary: When you finally find what's missing in your life and what makes you whole, you'll do whatever it takes to make sure that part of you is never taken away again. ON HIATUS.
1. Chapter 1

Love as Strong as Death

Chapter 1

"Okay, people, let's settle down," Mr. Bidwell said. "Put a lid on it." Once the class had quietened down, he continued. "Thank you. Now," he clasped his hands together, "it is time to begin work on our play. As most of you know, we usually put on a play every school year in the spring. This year we will be doing one of Shakespeare's most famous plays: _Romeo &amp; Juliet_. I will be the director, of course. Who would like to help out?" He stopped when he noticed a green-clad chipmunk had their hand raised. "Yes, Theodore?"

The chipmunk lowered his hand and said, "Are we going to be doing it based on the play itself or is it going to be an updated version?"

"We are using the original script, but with updated English," Mr. Bidwell replied.

"Just out of curiosity, how much does it cost to buy the rights to use the script for the play?" Theodore inquired.

"A lot of money."

"So, wouldn't it be much cheaper to have one of the students to write the script?"

"Are you saying that you'd like to write the script, Theodore?"

Theodore gave the teacher a hopeful look. "If you wouldn't mind."

Mr. Bidwell turned his head to look over at his partner, Ms. Carter, then turned to look back at Theodore. He nodded his head. "Okay, I'll give you a chance. How soon can you have the script completed?"

Theodore shrugged. "I could maybe give you a rough draft by the end of the week."

"Fair enough. Why don't you go ahead and go down to the computer lab to get started on it? The rest of you will be working on sets for the play. Okay, let's look alive, people!"

Theodore let out a breath of relief. "Oh, thank you, Mr. Bidwell."

"Just don't make me regret this."

"You won't, trust me."

"What are you still doing here? Go. Get to work."

Theodore nodded before rushing out the door and heading upstairs to the computer lab to start work on the play that, hopefully, would be made into a reality. After sitting down at one of the empty computers, he took out a flash drive from his sweater and plugged it into an unused USB drive. He liked the convenience of being able to work on essays and other writing projects both at school and at home, especially if said project was for school. This way he was able to get his work done more efficiently and faster while everyone else was working on their school projects only at home. It had actually been suggested to him via one of his teachers that he use this method so that he wouldn't lose all of his work when it came to present a project that he'd been working so hard on.

Of course, he didn't start writing the play immediately. In two hours' time, he worked on both the characters and the plot outline for the play. He decided that he would work on the actual play at home, seeing as how he no longer had any more time to work on it at school. He doubted that his other teachers would allow him to do his work during their classes, especially if it came to be an interference.

Alvin let out a bored sigh and rested his head on his folded arms. Really, he would have loved to be anywhere but in science class. It was so boring, not to mention all of those terms and definitions he needed to memorize. Honestly, why did Simon find this topic so fascinating? He looked over at his younger brother, who was feverishly copying down all of the notes that the teacher was currently writing on the board as she went about her lecture on particles. He heard Simon sigh in relief once th teacher finally stopped talking and put her chalk down. Though he didn't bother taking notes during class, Alvin guessed that all of that note taking really put a train on a guy's hand.

"Now," Ms. Warder stated, "don't forget that your science projects are due at the end of the month. For those of you who have not yet chosen a partner, I suggest you do so if you don't want to lose a good chunk of your overall grade."

Simon sighed and looked around the room for Jeanette, oblivious to the fact that Alvin was trying to get his attention. He got up and approached the bespectacled Chipette. "Hey, Jeanette, you haven't chosen a science partner yet, have you?"

Jeanette shook her head. "No. Why?"

"Well, I was kind of wondering if you'd like to be partners."

"Why don't you team up with Alvin?"

"No! Every year, it's the same story. I do all the work while Alvin lazes around. I am not going to allow that to happen this year. I'd be much more comfortable working with you."

Jeanette looked past Simon's shoulder to see Alvin approaching them. "Are you sure about that, Simon, because it looks like Alvin wants to talk to you."

"What/" The blue-clad chipmunk turned around to see his brother standing behind him. "You're tooo late, Alvin. I've already picked Jeanette to be my partner."

"Come on, Si, it'll be fun."

Simon glared. "No. All you're going to do is laze around and not doing anything and then take all the credit once I get the project done. Sorry. You're not going to get that chance this year, so I suggest you find someone else to mooch off of."

"But, Simon–"

Simon sliced his hand through the air. "But nothing, Alvin! I've made up my mind. Come on, Jeanette. Let's go."

"But . . ." Alvin started, only to stop short as Simon and Jeanette strode away.

It was during lunch that Theodore began work on his play, writing it via longhand. This wasn't a too unusual sight for the students of Warren Central, particularly Theodore's brothers and friends. They were quite used to seeing him either reading or writing during his lunch period, multitasking by way of eating while he was busy working. He guessed that he had picked up this ability through Simon, who could also be seen doing the same thing during lunch. He was just grateful that nobody bothered him during his time. He probably wouldn't have responded to them, anyway. When it came to a story that he was really passionate about, almost nothing could grab his attention until he decided that it was time to stop writing and return to reality.

Alvin was surprised when Simon sat down by him at lunch. Before he could question it, Simon started talking.

"Well, I've thought about it," Simon said, "and I've decided that if you're willing to put in the work, then I'm willing to work with you."

"So what happened?" Alvin took a bite of his sandwich. "Did Jeanette get together with someone else?"

Simon sighed dejectedly as he unfolded his napkin and rested it on his lap. "Yeah."

Alvin smirked. "I knew it."

"Look, Alvin, if we're going to be working together, I think it's best if we set up some ground rules."

Alvin nodded. "I agree."

"For starters, you have to help out with the research and with the project."

"Fair enough, but I have some–"

"No lazing around and making me do all the work. No cracking jokes or being a smart ass. I want to get an A on this project."

"Okay, but–"

"Because, to be perfectly honest, you're pretty much the last person I'd want to work with. I'd rather be with anyone else than you. So, can we please try to get along while working on this project for the next couple of months?" He extended a hand.

Looking down at Simon's hand sadly, Alvin grasped it and shook it. "Deal," he replied in a depressed manner.

"Good," Simon said, returning to his lunch.

Alvin stood up, tray in hand. "I think I'll go get started on doing some research for our project." Without another word to Simon, he dumped his food and carton of juice in the trash and walked out of the cafeteria. He made sure to quickly away any tears that might have escaped his eyes as he exited.

Theodore was still considering various plot twists and turns in his head as he and the others walked home from school that afternoon. As usual, Alvin and Brittany were arguing over something stupid while Simon and Jeanette were discussing the possibility of a particle that would finally allow man to travel at the speed of light, thus making time travel possible. The only other silent one, besides Theodore himself, was Eleanor, who seemed to be preoccupied with passing an exam that was to be administered the next day. He paid these distractions no mind, being consumed by the story he was currently writing.

Along with his brothers, he entered the Seville household. While Alvin went upstairs to their bedroom (Theodore assumed to play video games instead of doing homework), both Simon and Theodore went to the kitchen. Theodore grabbed a cookie and a glass of milk before asking Simon," Hey, do you mind if I borrow your computer? Mine's still at the shop, getting scanned for malware."

Simon nodded, also pouring himself a glass of milk and grabbing a chocolate chip cookie from off the plate. "Yeah, sure. You're okay with using a Mac, aren't you?"

"Uh . . . I'm more used to using a PC, but I've gotten used to using a Mac thanks to school." He was seated at the kitchen table by the time Simon came back downstairs with his laptop. With his notebook beside him, he set to work with copying down what he had written, then continued the story from where he'd stopped earlier. He was still working by the time Dave got home from work.

"Working on homework, Theodore?" Dave asked, walking in the kitchen.

"Something like that," Theodore replied. "When's dinner going to be ready?"

"About an hour and a half, maybe two."

"Hmm, okay."

"Has Alvin gotten his homework done?"

Theodore shrugged.

Dave sighed and walked to the base of the stairs. "Alvin!"

"What?" came the sharp reply.

"Is your homework done?"

No reply.

"Alvin?" Dave asked.

"No, Dave, it isn't," Simon replied.

"Get started on it, Alvin," Dave warned. He entered the kitchen yet again and began preparing dinner.

Meanwhile, Theodore continued to work on his play, never stopping. Oftentimes, he had to stop and delete something, only to completely revise it. He didn't bother with spelling, grammar, or punctuation. This was only the first draft. It wasn't suspected of him to pay attention to such trivial things; those things could wait and be corrected later on. He had to force himself to stop when Dave started setting the stable. He sprinted upstairs to give Simon back his laptop, then ran back downstairs to help Dave set the table. He had already saved all of the files to his flash drive, so he could work some more on it later once he had his laptop back.

Theodore seemed to be obsessed with his latest writing project. He barely paid any attention at all to the various conversations that were going on around him at the table. More than once Dave had to call his name in order to get his attention. Once he responded, he found that the usual dinner conversations were occurring. As usual, Dave asked them how their days had gone and what they had been up to lately, as well as anything they were up to outside of school. He was elated when Dave and his brothers said that he was eager to read the play that he was writing. He wondered why none of them knew about it until he realized that he hadn't told any one of them.

He helped Simon with the dishes after dinner, and even then he seemed to be distracted by his story. Thankfully, this didn't seem to bother Simon too much, as he was currently too busy with his own worries at the moment. Simon was currently complaining about how Alvin was supposed to be helping him with his science project, but the oldest of the Seville brothers would rather goof off and play video games than actually help him with anything. Such was the normal case whenever it came to relying on Alvin for help with anything related to school.

He didn't have the first draft of his play completed until Wednesday. Regardless, he still had many corrections to do. He'd been told that when it came to proofreading his work, it was always best to print out the work and read over it, as doing so via computer screen caused him to miss mistakes that he otherwise wouldn't if he was doing it through paper. Simon helped him in this regard. He knew better than to ask Alvin to help him; English wasn't exactly Alvin's strong suit. He was glad that Simon didn't question the content of the play and simply pointed out any mistakes that he may have made. This turned out to be quite a tedious process since not only did Theodore have to go through the entire play and correct it, but he had to add in these same corrections in the play again once he'd marked the mistakes with a red pen. He was just glad that he was able to completely get this all done by Friday.

On Friday morning, he walked into Mr. Bidwell's office and handed him his play.

Mr. Bidwell stared at the stack of papers he held in his hands. "Theodore, when I said you could write a play, I didn't mean a five hundred-page novel."

Theodore chuckled.

Mr. Bidwell thumbed through the script. "What's this play about anyway?"

"_Romeo and Juliet_, just as you requested."

"I see. I'll look over it and get back to you on Monday."

"Gotcha." Holding onto the shoulder straps of his backpack, he turned and started to walk out of the room until Mr. Bidwell stopped him.

"You seem to enjoy writing, Theodore," the teacher remarked. "You should consider going for a scholarship in English."

Theodore nodded in agreement. "Maybe. I'll think of about it."

"If your play's any good, I'll personally write a letter of recommendation for you. If the word of your English teachers is anything to by, you're an exceptional writer. Your brothers and friends also seem to think very highly of your writing talents as well. Who knows? I may just end up using this script. Like I said, I'll get back to you. Okay?"

"Okay. I guess I'll see you on Monday, then."

"See you then."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Theodore was quite anxious to hear Mr. Bidwell's opinion regarding the play he'd written. By the time Monday morning came, he was nearly bursting with excitement. Unable to wait until theater class, he walked to the music room, where their class was usually held and gently rapped on the door to Mr. Bidwell's office, prompting his teacher to look up at him.

"I'll let you know at class," Mr. Bidwell stated. "I haven't finished discussing it with Miss Carter yet."

Though disappointed, Theodore nodded his head. "Okay. I'll see you then." He walked out of the room and met up with his brothers, who were talking with the Chipettes. Alvin and Brittany were more arguing than talking, whereas Jeanette and Simon were currently talking about their respective projects that they had already begun working on.

"You seem chipper this morning," Eleanor nodded, smiling at her counterpart. "Did you happen to drink one of Alvin's energy drinks?"

Theodore shook his head. "No, just excited."

Eleanor gave him a confused look. "About what?"

Theodore smirked. "Oh, let's just say someone wrote an amazing play and the school just might put it into production for this year's play."

She grabbed him and hugged him. "Theodore, that's great! Oh, congratulations!" She pecked him on the cheek.

He blushed. "Thanks."

"Can I read it sometime?"

"Once I get the original copy back from Mr. Bidwell, I'll make a copy for you, I promise."

"You'd better. Has he made his decision yet?"

"No, he hasn't."

"What play was he wanting to do?"

"_The Wizard of Oz_."

"Didn't they do that play last year?"

"No, that was _Cinderella_. Remember, I asked you to go with me, but you said you had plans."

She nodded her head, remembering now. "Oh, yes, that's right."

"I didn't even bother asking Alvin." He snorted. "God forbid he actually get caught watching a play." He smiled over at Simon. "Thank goodness Simon and Jeanette weren't doing anything."

"Will you be auditioning for any roles?"

"No, I won't. I'm just the writer."

"Hey, if you're lucky, maybe they'll let you direct it."

He chuckled. "Yeah, right."

"You never know, Theodore."

He opened his mouth to object, but was cut short by the bell ringing. Silently, he turned and started down the hallway to his first period.

"I mean it, Alvin," Simon warned angrily. "I'm not going to carry you this time. One slip-up, and you're off the project. Got it?"

"All right, all right," Alvin agreed. "So, any ideas?"

"Well, I was thinking that maybe we could watch some episodes of _Futurama _for science project ideas."

Alvin gawked at his younger brother. "Are you serious? You know I don't watch that mindless science-fiction crap. That's like asking me to watch _Doctor Who _with you, which, by the way, you have done in the past."

"Pity you're not intelligent nor sophisticated enough to get those shows."

Alvin stuck his tongue out, but otherwise kept his mouth shut, deciding that it would be best to busy himself with the math problems that Mr. Priddy had put up on the board for them to do as an early morning brain teaser to get their minds going. The only problem was that it was that anything above basic math was nothing but all Greek to Alvin, so he had to rely on Simon for help, the latter whom didn't seem to have any problems with the math problems that had been presented to them, naturally. It was just a good thing that Simon didn't begrudge him if he needed help, just as long as Alvin was clearly asking for help because he genuinely needed it and actually wanted to understand the material instead of just doing it so he wouldn't have to.

"Okay, I think I get it now," Alvin said, looking over the work that Simon had done.

"And just in time too." Simon nodded towards the classroom door, where Mr. Priddy was just walking in.

"Good morning, everyone," Mr. Priddy greeted them, setting his satchel on his desk and sitting down. "I trust by now that you've all completed your morning exercises. Today, we are going to be discussing circumference . . ."

Theodore arrived to theater class early and took his seat, eager to hear what Mr. Bidwell had to say regarding his play. He figured that as long as he was busy waiting for everyone to arrive, he might as well get some writing done. Taking a notebook and a pen, he began working on a short story while all of the other students filed in the room and sat down.

"Good afternoon," Miss Carter said brightly as she entered the room, purse on her shoulder and coffee mug in hand.

"Good afternoon," the class murmured monotonously.

Mr. Bidwell arrived some time after carrying Theodore's script. "Okay, people, listen up," he announced. "This year, we are not going to be doing _Wizard of Oz_."

Theodore's face lit up. This was it. Mr. Bidwell had chosen his play as the play that the school would perform!

"Instead," Mr. Bidwell continued, "we are going to be doing a play that one of our own wrote." He looked the script over in his hands. "Uh, it was written by Mr. Theodore Seville, and it is called _Romeo &amp; Julian_, obviously based on Shakespeare's classic romance."

"Are you sure you're saying that right?" India Matthews asked. "Shouldn't it be _Romeo &amp; Juliet_?"

Mr. Bidwell shook his head. "No, India, the title is clearly _Romeo &amp; Julian_." He showed her the front of the script, which simply had the title of the play, followed by its author.

India looked over at Theodore, giving him a quizzical look. "What are you, gay? You like gay porn, is that it?"

"India!" Mr. Bidwell barked. "That's enough!" He cleared his throat. "Yes, this play does feature a gay couple, obviously two men. If you've read _Romeo &amp; Juliet_, and those of you who took freshman English with Mr. Miller, I'm sure you have, the basic plot is the same. Two people meet, fall in love, results in, big shocker, tragedy. So, now that the play has been approved–"

"Hold on, hold on," India jumped in yet again. "Maybe not everybody wants to put on a play about two gay guys. I mean, how does the school board feel about this?"

"The school board has approved of it," Mr. Bidwell replied.

"Well, I think we should vote on it," India objected. "Whoever wants to put on a play about two queers, raise your hand."

"India, office, now," Miss Carter exclaimed.

India shrugged and grabbed he stuff. "Whatever." She walked out of the classroom and down the hall.

"Now," Mr. Bidwell went on, "as I was saying,, now that the play has been approved, we should probably set to work designing the sets. I will be holding auditions for roles after school starting next week."

Theodore approached the teachers tentatively and asked, "I was wondering if I could maybe try directing the play this year."

"You want to direct, Theodore?" Miss Carter asked.

"Yes."

"If I let you direct," Mr. Bidwell said, "you have to let me be your co-director. This is your first directing job, so I will be available to help you."

Theodore nodded. "Okay, fair enough." He shook Mr. Bidwell's hand.

"Be sure to stay after school on Monday so that we can start auditions," Miss Carter said.

Along with the rest of his class, Theodore moved to the art room so that they could begin designing the sets.

"Here's an idea," Alvin said, biting at his nails while he lied stomach-down on his bed, "why don't we do an experiment to see how breakfast affects our minds?" He looked over at Simon to gauge his little brother's reaction.

Turning in his chair away from his computer, Simon eyed Alvin. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, for one week, we could go without eating breakfast and see how it affects our academic performance," Alvin elaborated. "Then, for another week, we could eat breakfast and see how well we do when it comes to paying attention and test taking."

Simon stroked his chin in thought. "That's not a bad idea, Alvin, although–"

"Ugh! Forget it!" Alvin slid off his bed and stood up. "Every idea that I've come up with so far, you've shot down."

"I just don't think they're good enough for a project."

"Why not? Who wouldn't be interested in seeing how breakfast affects your brain?"

"Well, it's just that, Justin Fleming did that one last year. Don't you remember?"

Alvin sighed. "Yeah, you're right."

"It was a nice idea, though."

"Yeah, yeah." He grabbed the box of Cheez-Its resting on his bed and popped a few into his mouth. "What about the chemical properties of different gases have in relation to other gases? We could put two gases together and see what the reaction is."

"I don't know, Alvin. First of all, where would we get the gases? Second of all, it could be dangerous. I mean, what if one of the reactions results in mustard gas?"

Alvin stared at him blankly.

Simon sighed and rolled his eyes. "Mustard gas is poisonous, Alvin, as in it could kill us both."

"Oh, well, never mind." He dug his hand back in the box of cheese crackers and hastily scarfed some down.

"Look, why don't we take a break?" Simon suggested, getting up. "You're clearly frustrated and my mind's too clouded right now for me to think straight."

Alvin nodded his head. "I'm with you on that one." He followed Simon downstairs to the kitchen to retrieve a can of soda from the fridge while Simon made himself something to eat.

"Oh, it's good to see you two," Theodore spoke up, eyeing them. "Listen, the school's putting on a play this year and I was wondering–"

"No, we can't help," Alvin butted in. "We're both busy right now."

"Oh." Theodore looked down dejectedly. He looked up again, his face brightening. "Did I mention that you could get the lead part?"

Alvin cocked his head to the side, popping open his Coke. "I'm listening." He took a swig.

"As I was saying, you would be able to get the lead role if you were to try out for it," Theodore continued, "and, Simon, you could probably–"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Simon interjected. "Hold on here. First of all, what's the play about? Who wrote it?"

"Well, it's a romance. I wrote it."

Simon and Alvin stared at each other, then turned back to Theodore.

"You wrote it?" Alvin asked. He smirked. "Is it any good?"

"Well, if beating out _The Wizard of Oz _in terms of quality is equal to good, then–"

"It's that good?" Simon inquired.

"Mr. Bidwell and Miss Carter sure seemed to love it," Theodore remarked.

"Hmm, maybe I will audition for it," Alvin mused, "provided that there's a kissing scene."

"There's at least one that I remember," Theodore told him. He turned to Simon. "And, Simon, you could help out with props and lighting and special effects. You could work the spotlight if you wanted to."

"I could probably get extra credit for working on it," Simon said, "and the extra credit would look good on my college application. Plus, it would give me something to do when I'm not working on my science project with Alvin."

Theodore beamed. "Sounds like a deal to me."

Alvin smiled. "Okay, you've got yourself a deal." He struck out his hand, which Theodore shook. "So, when can I read this marvelous play you wrote?"

"In just a few short minutes. I'm making a copy for Eleanor right now. I'll make a copy for you too so that you can have a copy to rehearse with. Speaking of which, I'd better get down to the basement to make sure it's done." He started heading to the basement door.

"While you're down there, don't be touching anything," Simon warned."You're only allowed to use the copying machine and that's it! Nothing else! Understand?!"

"I hear you, Simon," Theodore called up.

Simon chuckled and smiled at Alvin. "He sure seems excited, doesn't he?"

"Well, he should be," Alvin replied. He reared his head back and downed the rest of his Coke. "He's been trying to get out there, get his work published, get noticed as a writer for years now."

"Yeah. It's nice he's finally starting to get some recognition, isn't it?"

"Like you wouldn't believe."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Mr. Bidwell began holding auditions for the play as early as Monday afternoon after school. Of course, most of the people who showed up to audition for various roles were members of the drama club. It made sense. They each had experience with acting and being on stage. While both Mr. Bidwell and Miss Carter highly recommended specific people for certain roles, none of them felt right to Theodore. He felt bad for rejecting them, but promised them that they would get a callback if no actor was selected within a week or two.

Theodore wasn't too surprised that Alvin had shown up to audition for the lead role, but he was surprised that his older brother had decided to go through with auditioning for the play at all. Hadn't Alvin read the entire script? Didn't he know that the play was about two gay lovers? If he did, Alvin didn't seem to care in the slightest as he waltzed up on stage and proudly declared that he was auditioning for the role of Romeo.

"Okay, Alvin," Mr. Bidwell said. "Whenever you're ready."

Alvin cleared his throat, then spoke. "'But soft! What light through yonder window breaks...'tis the east and Juliet is the sun.'" After reciting a few more lines, Mr. Bidwell finally stopped him and said that they would call him if they were interested in a callback. Alvin seemed pleased with this, as evidenced by the fact that he happily skipped off the stage and out of the auditorium.

"Well, that's everyone," Miss Carter stated. She added to Theodore, "You have at least a week to come to a decision. If by that time you haven't, we'll decide for you."

"Would you mind sending me the audition recordings to my email so that I can review them?" Theodore asked Mr. Bidwell.

Mr. Bidwell nodded. "I just need your email address. Oh, wait, what operating system do you have?"

"Windows."

Mr. Bidwell grimaced. "Ooh, I don't know if the video format will be compatible with your computer. See, we use Mac computers here, so I don't know if you would be able to convert the video format to one that would be supported by your computer."

"I have that VLC Player thing."

"Oh, well, that's quite different, then. What's your email, Theodore?"

Alvin smiled when he spotted Simon in the hallway. "Simon!" He waved his younger brother over and, with an annoyed look on his face, Simon obliged.

"What is it, Alvin?" Simon asked, folding his arms.

"I think I might have an idea for our science project," Alvin said.

"Hit me."

"Can having sex lead to love and a relationship?"

Simon blinked. "I don't know. You'd probably be better off asking a health professional."

"No, that's what we can base our science project on."

Simon gawked at him. "I am _not _having sex with you!"

Alvin smacked his hand against his forehead. "No, you idiot, that's not what I'm talking about. I'm saying we should get an older couple and see whether or not them having sex results in them forming a relationship."

"Where did you even come up with the idea for this project anyway?"

"Health class."

"Oh. That makes sense, I guess." He sighed. "Well, I really can't think of anything else at the moment, so I suppose it's worth a shot."

"Yes!"

"Come on, let's get to lunch." He began walking alongside Alvin towards the cafeteria. "So, who did you have in mind for this experiment?"

Alvin shrugged. "I haven't gotten that far yet."

Simon sighed and rolled his eyes. "Of course you haven't."

'Don't worry. It'll come to me eventually."

"Well, you better hurry. We only have a month to get this project done, and we're already a week behind."

"I know, I know." He stroked his chin in thought. "Let's see. Who do we know who's currently in a relationship right now?"

Alvin stopped to think as well. "There's Scott Peterson and Dominique Young."

Simon nodded. "There's also Evan Skinner and Tatum Tyree. You know what? We shouldn't get someone from school. Don't want to risk a teen pregnancy. Why don't we find a couple outside of school."

"We could try Dave and Miss Miller."

"Are you insane?! You know as well as I do that they would never go for something like that!"

"Well, we have to get someone, Simon!"

Simon groaned. "This is giving me a headache. Maybe getting some food will help." He entered the cafeteria with Alvin and got in line, grabbing a tray and handing one to Alvin as well. While waiting to get some food, he looked around the room at the various couples throughout the room. He knew that it was no use in asking any one of them to help them with their science project. Besides, if the girl in the relationship ended up getting pregnant, it would be on their heads. He still couldn't believe that he was actually going through with this inane idea of Alvin's. There's no way it would ever work.

"What about a gay couple?" Alvin inquired.

"What?" Simon turned to look down at his older brother.

"Well, I was just thinking, why does it have to be a heterosexual couple? Why can't it be a gay couple? What's wrong with that? Am I right?"

"Gay or lesbian?"

"What?"

"There's two type of homosexual people: gays and lesbians. Which one do you want?"

"Well, two lesbians would probably be hotter."

Simon rolled his eyes. "Seriously, Alvin?"

"Dude, two guys doing it isn't hot or sexy. It's just . . . ew!"

"And how would you know that?" Simon asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No reason," Alvin said quickly, his eyes darting back and forth.

Simon gave him a puzzling look until someone barked, "Hey, you're holding up the goddamn lunch line," prompting him to move forward and grab his food and drink. He spotted Theodore and the Chipettes seated at a table and sat down with them, along with Alvin.

"Simon, switch seats with Alvin," Brittany requested. "I can't stand being near him right now."

"Then get up and move then," Alvin suggested. "It's not that hard."

"Why don't you move? It's not like you're exactly incapable of doing that."

"Why do I have to move? You're the lady."

Simon sighed. Getting up, he picked Alvin up and set his older brother in his seat, then sat down in Alvin's seat. He switched their trays around and proceeded to eat his lunch. "There. Now, shut up!" He pierced his salad with his fork and popped it in his mouth. He looked across the table to see Theodore multitasking by way of eating and looking over the script to his play. "Theodore, I thought you said you were done with that thing."

Theodore nodded, not looking up. "I am. I'm just doing some revising, and maybe rewrite a few scenes too. I want this play to be absolutely perfect. Nothing can go wrong."

"Do me a favor and don't be obsessing over this play night and day," Simon advised. "Remember that one novel you got obsessed with? You were staying up 'til three in the morning working out and you were crabby all day from not getting enough sleep. You need to learn to relax and not work yourself so hard. Relax. The play's good as it is. There's no need to revise or rewrite anything. The audience will decide whether or not the play was any good."

"Mm-hmm," Theodore mumbled.

"You didn't hear a word I just said, did you?" Simon asked.

"Mm-hmm."

"I'll take that as a no." He sighed and took a drink of his juice. He leaned forward and looked down at Jeanette, who was busy writing in her notebook. "Hey, Jeanette, have you figured out what you're going to do for your science project yet?"

Jeanette looked up from her notebook. "Oh, yeah. I'm doing a project on how lack of nutrition affects the brain."

"Too late," Alvin spoke up. "Justin Fleming did that project last year. Don't you remember?"

Jeanette sighed and ripped out the page she'd been using it, crumbling it up and setting it on her tray. "Well, so much for that."

"Simon and I are doing an experiment on sex," Alvin continued. "Do you know any couples outside of schools we can use as guinea pigs?"

Jeanette cocked an eyebrow. "What are you talking about? You aren't going to watch them have sex, are you?"

"No! We want to see if sex can lead to two people forming a relationship."

"Oh. That's really clever, Alvin. Did you come up with that yourself?"

Alvin glared. "Yes."

"Wow," Brittany murmured. "Alvin Seville actually came up with an idea that either didn't suck or wasn't completely stupid. I'm impressed."

"Hey, you know what?" Alvin barked. "No one asked for your opinion, and if you were smart–"

"Okay, enough, you two!" Simon snapped, glaring. "Knock it off, okay?"

"Yeah, I don't have time to deal with all of this right now," Theodore spoke up. "I'm trying to work here."

"Same here," Jeanette agreed, nodding her head. "Keep it down, will you?" She went back to work, writing down whatever formulas and algebraic equations came to her to help support her hypothesis.

"What about you, Eleanor?" Alvin asked. "Do you know–"

"Don't talk to me, Alvin," Eleanor snapped as she peeled a banana. "I'm still pissed at you for getting me covered in that purple gunk in chemistry last year."

"And I told you," Alvin said, "it was an accident."

"No, it wasn't!" Eleanor sneered and pounded the table with her fist. "Once again, you weren't paying attention to what you were doing and that's why I ended up with purple crap all over my face! Of course, you wouldn't have made that mistake if you actually paid attention to one word that the teacher said. She said quite clearly, 'Do not mix unknown chemicals, as this can cause a violent reaction.' But, no. Alvin Seville knows more than everybody else, so to hell with what anyone else says or thinks because they're automatically wrong. Yeah, you know what? Screw you!" She flipped him off, then proceeded to angrily bite into her banana.

"Well, up yours too, then," Alvin muttered.

"Come on." Simon grabbed Alvin's arm and led him out of the cafeteria.

"Hey, hey, hey," Alvin protested. "What's the big idea?"

"It's clear we're not going to be able to find a suitable couple to help us with our project," Simon told him. "So, until we can, I suggest we start doing research."

"Ugh! I hate doing research!"

"Too bad. You were the one who suggested we do this experiment, and like I said earlier, you're going to help carry your own weight this time, Alvin."

Alvin sighed. "All right, all right, I'll help."

Simon grinned. "That's more like it."

Simon sighed in frustration as he and Alvin entered the Seville abode. He slammed the door shut and growled, "All that research for nothing!"

"Well, not exactly," Alvin said. "I learned something new about the brain today. Apparently, pleasure is caused by dopamine."

Simon stared at him. "You honestly didn't know that?"

"Like I said, I'm not into the whole science-fiction geek thing."

Simon's expression hardened. "And as I've told you before, me liking _Doctor Who _doesn't make me a geek."

Alvin snickered. "Right, like Theodore liking _My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic _doesn't make him gay."

"You must be gay since you like reading comics about a bunch of guys wrestling with each other while wearing spandex."

"Hey, Batman and ponies are two very difference things."

"Sure they are, Alvin. Sure they are."

"And liking superheroes doesn't make you gay."

"Just as liking ponies doesn't make you gay."

"If you're a guy and you like girly stuff, then, yes, you are gay."

"Says who?!"

"Says me!"

"Well, just because you say it, doesn't make it true."

"According to you."

Simon sputtered his lips and retreated to the kitchen to grab a drink. "You are so full of crap." He grabbed a bottle of water and tossed a can of Mountain Dew to Alvin. "What say you and me get to work on this project of ours?"

"Are you trying to seduce me, Simon? I told you before, I'm not gay."

Simon sighed. "Would you stop that?! I'm talking about doing some more research."

"More research?! For crying out loud, we just got home from doing research at the library!"

Simon glowered. "Alvin!"

Alvin hung his head. "Okay."

"And when I say research, I mean actually reading, not reading one of your comic books behind a science book."

"All right. Come on." He led Simon upstairs.

"I'll find out what I can on the computer." Simon trust some books against Alvin's chest. "You read these and see what you can come up with." He sat down at his computer, leaving Alvin to lie down on his bed and beginning to read.

For the longest time, the two of them didn't say much. Aside from the clicking of the keys of the keyboard or the mouse and the rustling of papers, there wasn't much noise in the room. Every now and then, one of them would cough or clear their throat, but they were silent most of the time. Simon would drink his water while Alvin chugged his soda.

"Find anything?" Simon inquired, eyes glued to the computer screen.

"No," Alvin replied, obviously bored. He lifted his head from his book. He cringed, feeling a dull aching pain in his neck. He rubbed at it while he asked, "What about you?"

"I've found some stuff on the correlation between the brain and sex, but, other than that, nothing. It's stuff that I didn't already know."

Alvin closed the book and rolled over onto his back, staring up at the ceiling with his hands folded across his tummy. "This is so pointless. We've been sitting here doing research for over an hour and we've found nothing!"

"Advancements in science took several years, Alvin," Simon noted. "It didn't only take an hour."

Alvin walked over to Simon. "Shouldn't we be out looking for a couple to test our theory with?"

Simon shook his head. "Negative. It'd take too long. We don't know anyone outside of school who would be willing to help us, aside from Dave and Miss Miller, and, as I've already told you, the probability of them willing to have sex just to help us test our hypothesis isn't very high."

"We could go into the forest, maybe convince some animals to do each other."

Simon sputtered his lips. "Yeah, right. How are we going to do that, Alvin?"

"A romantic dinner of spaghetti and meatballs?"

Simon sighed. "You've been watching too many Disney movies, Alvin." He fell silent when he heard the front door close. "Theodore's home."

Theodore walked in the room a moment later, dumping his backpack on his bed and lying down.

"How did auditions go?" Alvin inquired.

Theodore tilted his head to look over at his older brother and simply shook his head.

"I'm sorry," Alvin apologized. "You guys will find someone."

Theodore rolled over onto his stomach, looking over at Simon. "Simon, would you be interested in auditioning for the part? You'd be Alvin's co-star."

Simon shook his head, his eyes not leaving the computer screen. "Sorry, Theodore, but I'm currently preoccupied with this. I'm already working as a stagehand."

"But we've auditioned over a hundred one people and none of them fit the role. Could you at least try out for the part? You may not even get a callback."

"I will be, however," Alvin said proudly, earning glares from both his brothers. "What?"

"What do you say, Simon?" Theodore asked. "Please?"

Simon rolled his eyes. "All right, all right. If it means that much to you, I'll do it, as long as it gets you to shut up."

Theodore leaped up and hugged him. "Yes! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

"You're welcome," Simon replied breathlessly. "Now could you please let go of me? I can't breathe!"

"Oh, sorry!" Theodore quickly released him.

"Simon Seville," Miss Carter called.

The blue-clad stepped up onto the stage.

"Which part are you auditioning for?" Mr. Bidwell asked.

"Uh, the part of Julian," Simon replied.

"Okay, go," Mr. Bidwell instructed. "Whenever you're ready."

Simon inhaled, then recited a few lines from the script that he'd memorized. Oftentimes, he had to redo his lines since the teachers and Theodore wanted to get the proper feeling for the scene. After several minutes of reciting lines, Simon was dismissed and told that they would call him if they were interested in giving him a callback.

"So, what do you think, Theodore?" Miss Carter asked.

"Well, Alvin and Simon are the best we've seen so far," Theodore remarked. "I say we go ahead and give them the roles and start auditioning for the other roles."

Mr. Bidwell nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we need to go ahead and get this play into the planning stages if we want it to be out by spring. We've already gotten the sets all done, but we still need to work out how each scene is going to look, how the lights are going to work in each scene, what kind of special effects we're going to use, so on and so forth."

Miss Carter nodded. "Agreed. What do you say, Theodore?"

"I say we go ahead and cast the lead roles and then work on the other roles," Theodore stated.

"Very well." Mr. Bidwell took out his phone. "In that case, I have some phone calls to make."

Alvin set the phone back on the receiver and turned to Simon. "Well, that was Bidwell. I got the part."

Simon nodded his head, looking at his phone. "Just got the text message from Miss Carter. Looks like I'm going to be your co-star. Apparently, she had to text me since Bidwell couldn't get a hold of me."

"When do you think we'll start rehearsing?" Alvin sat down across from his younger brother.

"We'll probably start rehearsal once the cast has been posted. Until then, I guess we'll only be rehearsing the scenes with just the two of us. If we can't rehearse at school, then we can at least rehearse at home."

Alvin nodded. "Makes sense." After a moment, he added, "Should we go ahead and get started?"

Simon shrugged. "Might as well. We need to be well prepared." After digging around in his backpack, he retrieved his copy of the script. He noticed that Alvin had done the same. He flipped through the script until he spotted a scene between his character and Alvin's. "Okay, go to page fifty-seven."

"Why? There's plenty of scenes between just the two of us."

"Alvin, don't argue with me. Just do it."

Alvin did so and cleared his throat. "Okay, here we go."

Simon coughed into his hand and spoke. "'Go your way, O Romeo, for I will be with you forever and ever, amen. Surely God shall be between thee and I wherever we go, and between my seed and your seed forever and ever, amen.'" He opened his mouth to continue, then suddenly stopped. "Wait a minute. What the hell?" He looked up at Alvin to see that his older brother had a perplexed look on his face.

"Theodore," both of them shouted in unison.

The green-clad chipmunk came bounding down the stairs in a hurry. "What?! What is it?! What's wrong?!"

Alvin showed his little brother the script he held in his hands. "What the hell is this all about?"

Theodore took the script and read over it before giving his brother a questioning look. "I don't get it. What's the problem?"

"Why is there a kissing scene between Romeo and Julian?" Simon asked, folding his arms.

"Well, it's a romance. This is the last time they're going to see each other, so of course they're going to be really emotional about it."

"Wait a minute," Alvin interjected. "Is this a romance between two gay guys?"

Theodore nodded. "Yes. Why am I clarifying this for you guys? You should know this already."

"Theodore, I can't be in this play if I have to act like a gay guy in it," Alvin replied.

"Yeah, me neither," Simon agreed, shaking his head.

Theodore sighed and rolled his eyes. "You guys . . . you guys are such homophobes."

"No, homophobia has nothing to do with it," Alvin snapped. "I can't act in this play 'cause it would mean I would have to kiss my own brother."

"Well, you wouldn't actually be kissing," Theodore corrected him. "You would just be acting like you were kissing him."

"Does Dave know about this?" Alvin asked. And, anyway, I don't think I can bring myself to act like I'm kissing my own brother on stage in front of hundreds of people."

"Why don't you just practice?" Theodore asked.

"On each other?" Simon asked.

"No way," Alvin cried.

"Not necessarily with each other. I mean, you both have girlfriends. Maybe you could practice your kissing technique on them."

"I suppose that could work," Simon said.

"Not with me and Brittany," Alvin stated.

"Well, of course not," Simon agreed. "You two are constantly at each other's throats, so you wouldn't be able to get near her to kiss her."

"I think we should talk to Dave about this before we agree to go through with it," Alvin said.

"Yeah, agreed," Simon concurred.

Theodore sighed. "Fine. We'll wait until dinner to discuss it with Dave. If you guys bail out on the play, I'll have to find someone else to take over as the stars."

"That's fine," Alvin declared. "Just get us out of this situation."

"I'll see what I can do," Theodore remarked.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"But, Dave–"

"No buts, Alvin," Dave objected. "You boys tried out for the play and both of you were chosen. If you were to back out now, it would look bad on both of you."

"Uh, Dave, you are aware of what the play is about, right?" Simon spoke up.

"Yes, Simon, I am aware of what the play is about," Dave reassured him.

"And you're perfectly okay with this?" Alvin asked.

"Yes," Dave replied.

Theodore grinned. "Thank you, Dave."

"Now," Dave went on, "I think it's only fair to Theodore and the school that's putting on this play that you go through with your roles."

"But, Dave, we would be playing gay lovers and . . . kissing . . . each other," Simon said hesitantly.

"You don't have to actually kiss," Dave stated. "Just fake it. Kiss on the cheek, if you have to." He looked over at Theodore. "Does it specifically say that they have to kiss each other on the mouth?"

"No, it just says, 'they kiss,'" Theodore said.

"There you go," Dave said. "Simon, as I understand it, you're supposed to also be helping with the lighting and special effects."

Simon nodded. "Yes, that's right, but I won't have anything to work with until we start rehearsing, and we won't start rehearsing until the full cast is posted."

"In the meantime, I still need to make some changes to the script," Theodore stated.

"Why?" Alvin asked. "No one seems to have a problem with the play being about two gay guys."

"Not that," Theodore corrected. "I'm talking about spelling mistakes, errors in grammar and punctuation, that sort of thing." He blushed. "I'm sort of a perfectionist when it comes to English."

"Naturally," Simon muttered.

"We still need someone to try out for the part of Abby," Theodore stated.

"What about Brittany?" Simon suggested.

Alvin shook his head. "No. She's busy with the yearbook and I don't think she'd be willing to work with me on the play."

Simon rolled his eyes. "Of course not. Who else is there?"

"There's Gretchen Bishop," Theodore said. "I don't think she's doing anything. A lot of the older girls are in various clubs like FFA, so it'd be pretty hard to get them to work on the play." He gestured between Simon and Alvin. "Do you guys know anyone we could use?"

"No," both brothers said in unison.

Theodore sighed. "Well, we need someone."

Simon grinned at him. "Don't worry, Theodore. We'll find someone."

Simon and Alvin sat at the kitchen, scripts in hand as they rehearsed over one of their scenes together.

Simon cleared his throat. "'Go your way, O Romeo, for I will be with you forever and ever, amen. Surely God shall be between thee and I wherever we go, and between my seed and your seed forever and ever, amen.'"

Alvin nodded his head, taking a sip of hot chocolate. "'Don't ask me to leave you, or to stop following you. Wherever you go, I'll go. Where you stay, I'll stay. Your family will be my family. Your God will be my God. Where you lie, I will lie with you. I'd rather die and be buried before I would allow myself to be separated from you. The only way you and I are going to be separated is if death separates us. 'Til death do we part, right?'"

"'Right,'" Simon agreed. He swallowed upon reading the stage direction. He looked up at Alvin. "Hey, this is the scene where we're supposed to kiss."

"Yep."

"Do you . . . do you think we should practice it."

"Well, if we're going to be trying to convince people that we're a gay couple in love, I think we should."

"Well . . ., okay." He leaned forward, eyes closed and lips puckered. He could tell that Alvin was doing the same, as he could feel Alvin's breath on his face. He leaned further in until he felt his lips gently caress Alvin's. He jumped upon feeling an electric spark shoot through him when their lips touched.

"Alvin! Simon!"

Both boys jumped and turned to see Jeanette looking at them dumbfounded.

"What are you two doing?!" the brunette shrieked.

"Nothing, Jeanette," Simon started. "We were just–"

"Dave," Jeanette cried.

A moment later, Dave walked in the room. "What's going on?" He suddenly seemed to notice Jeanette standing there. "Oh, hello, Jeanette."

"Dave," Jeanette went on, "I thought you'd like to know that your two boys were in here kissing."

Dave nodded. "I know."

Jeanette blinked. "You know? And you're okay with it?"

"Of course," Dave said. "They're rehearsing for the play, Jeanette."

Jeanette frowned. "Oh." She looked at the two eldest Chipmunks. "I thought that that–"

"What?" Alvin inquired. "That we're in love? What are you, crazy? Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not into romantic walks with my brothers."

"Sorry," Jeanette apologized.

"What do you want, Jeanette?" Simon asked.

"Oh, nothing," Jeanette replied. She pulled a book from her backpack. "I just came by to give this book back to you. I borrowed it from you a week ago." She handed her boyfriend the book and stood there silently, gripping her backpack in her hands.

After examining the book for a couple of moments, Simon nodded and set the book aside. "Is that all?"

"No," Jeanette added. "I wanted to see how your science project was coming along?"

"Oh. Well, we haven't come up with anything yet."

"But we're trying," Alvin added.

"Have you tried experimenting with Mentos and diet Coke?" Jeanette suggested. "You could have your very own miniature volcano."

Simon rolled his eyes and shook his head. "No, thanks. Everybody's done that. In fact, the teacher strictly forbade anyone from turning it in as an assignment."

"I guess I missed that part, then," Jeanette said.

"What about you?" Simon took a drink of his hot chocolate. "What have you come up with so far?"

"I've been watching a lot of _Doctor Who_ lately, so I'm using it as the basis for my hypothesis about whether or not time travel is actually possible."

Alvin shook his head. "What is it with you science geeks and science-fiction shows?"

"What is it with you and candy colored ponies?" Simon shot back, smirking. He winced when he felt Alvin kick him in the shin underneath the table.

"We're kind of busy here, Jeanette," Alvin stated, "so if you don't mind . . ."

"Alvin," Simon hissed, glaring.

"Right, of course," Jeanette said. "I'll let you guys get back to work." She smiled at Simon. "I'll see you at school." She left.

Simon continued to scowl at Alvin. "You didn't have to scare her off like that."

"And your smart ass remark about my hatred towards ponies was uncalled for as well," Alvin remarked.

Simon sighed. "Fair enough. Can we just get back to work, please?"

"Gladly." Alvin drank the rest of his hot chocolate, then proceeded to rehearse with Simon.

Later in his room, Simon lay on his bed, stomach-down, doing some algebra problems. Momentarily, he would check his answers by using the answer key in the back of the book. He checked his watch. He'd been working on these math problems for over an hour and a half. That was odd. Usually, he got these done in less than an hour. What was the problem?

He recalled the kiss between him and Alvin during their rehearsal of Romeo and Julian's departure. It'd been on his mind for the past couple of days, but why? He recalled the spark of electricity that had coursed through his body when their lips had met. Funny, he hadn't experienced such a thing whenever he kissed Jeanette. What was the spark supposed to signify? What is just the result of an electric charge, the result of Alvin shuffling his feet against the carpet? That couldn't be it, as their floor had no carpeting on it; it was all hardwood. He rubbed at the side of his face, struggling to figure out what was wrong with him.

He shook his head. Why was he so troubled by this? He should have been concentrating on his homework, but that was hard to do when his mind was preoccupied by his current dilemma. He knew that he should have been bothered by it. It was just a simple, innocent kiss. Nothing more. So why, pray tell, was he so distraught over it? Was Alvin as conflicted about it as he was? If his older brother was, then clearly, Alvin was a better actor than he was. Alvin had shown no signs of discomfort of disgruntlement over the kiss throughout the past couple of days.

He got back to work on his math problems, hoping that the mental work would distract him. Oddly enough, however, his eyes kept darting back to the family photo of the three of them and Dave that rested on the wall across from him. Not surprisingly, his focus was centered on Alvin and only Alvin. Sighing, he buried his face in his book, contemplating about what he should do about the situation that he found himself in. He couldn't talk to Alvin about it. His brother already found him strange; he didn't need another reason for his brother to think that he was an oddball.

Even so, he felt that if he didn't talk to Alvin, or at least someone, about what he was feeling at the moment, he felt as if he would go crazy. If anything, talking about it would make him feel better. It was here that he reached another problem: who did he talk to about his problem? He couldn't talk to any of his family members out of fear and embarrassment. His best bet was the school counselor. That's what they were there for, right? But, how should he go about explaining the situation to her? Ugh! It was nothing but a practice kiss, that's all. Why the hell was he so damned concerned about this, anyway? He had more important things to worry about, liking memorizing his lines for the school play, homework, his science project, staying on top of his chores, and so on and so forth. All he needed right now was something to distract him.

He rubbed at himself. Great. Now he felt dirty. A good scrubbing would probably do him some good, especially since he hadn't showered since the other day. Grabbing a set of clothes and a towel, he retreated to the bathroom.

"Alvin?" Dave walked in the living room, drying off a washed plate. He spotted Alvin sitting slouched in the living room couch, mindlessly changing the channels. "Alvin, would you mind taking the trash out before it starts to overflow?"

The oldest Chipmunk sighed and set the remote aside. "Sure. Nothing good on TV anyway." He slid off the couch and walked in the kitchen. After tying up the garbage bag, he heaved it outside. As he was about to dump it in the trash bin on the curb, he stopped, something having caught his attention. In one of the second-story windows, he could clearly see Simon undressing. His younger brother was probably preparing to take a shower. He chuckled to himself. Simon was as picky about being clean as he was about getting his homework and various projects done in a quick yet well-done manner.

For some odd reason, Alvin felt the need to stop and stare at his younger brother. It was funny. He'd never noticed how well toned Simon's back was. He blinked. Where were these feelings coming from? They were certainly strange, as he'd never had these kinds of thoughts about any of his brothers before. Sure, being the womanizer that he was, he'd had these kinds of thoughts for girls before, but never for anyone in his family, much less another male. Where were these bizarre, twisted feelings coming from? He'd been feeling strange ever since his kiss with Simon the other day. Could that have had something to do with it? Nah, couldn't be. They'd just been practicing, rehearsing for the play after all. It wasn't as if it meant anything. But did it? What if it did mean something? Unfortunately, philosophy wasn't exactly one of Alvin's strong suits, and he would probably be better off asking someone who was good at using logic, someone like Simon.

No. He couldn't do that. It would be too embarrassing, and Simon would surely think him queer for asking such a question. Though he wouldn't admit it to his friends, he supposed that what he really needed was a counselor to talk to, someone he could confide in without fear of his secret getting out to the public. There was such a thing as counselor-student confidentiality, right? If therapists and patients practiced it, then surely counselors practiced it with their students.

That was it, then. All he needed to do was talk to the school counselor about his sudden bizarre feelings towards his younger brother. Perhaps the counselor could help him get to the root behind his new feelings for his brother. What was it about Simon that made him feel this way? Was it his brains? The cute way he looked in his glasses? And why the hell was Alvin even asking himself these questions to begin with anyway? He wasn't in love with his brother. He couldn't be. He was in love with Brittany, wasn't he? Now he wasn't so sure anymore.

He jumped upon hearing a blaring horn honking at him. He turned to see a driver in a pickup truck motioning for him to get out of the street. Apparently, he'd been so preoccupied that he hadn't realized that he'd accidentally backed up into the street. He hastily got onto the sidewalk and proceeded to walk in the house. Maybe some TV would help.

Simon sighed, stepping out of the hot shower and beginning to dry off. The steam that seemed to envelope the entire room made it somewhat difficult for him to see. Squinting, he reached forward and rubbed at the mirror, clearing away the condensation that had built up on it. He smiled at his reflection before slipping on his fresh pair of clothes, followed by his glasses.

Now that he'd showered, he felt somewhat cleaner than he had before, but the dirty thoughts remained in his head. What was wrong with him? He couldn't possibly be in love with Alvin. They had only shared one kiss, and it'd been a completely innocent one at that. Why had there been a spark, though? Was it because of their bodies touching, or was it a scene that they were meant to be together? No. They were brothers. It was illegal. What would their fans think? How would it affect how the world saw them? How would it affect their careers, their relationships with their family and friends? There was no sense in risking all of that just to find out whether or not he and Alvin were meant to be together. It was best if he just ignored it. Perhaps the feelings would go away in time.

Flicking off the bathroom light, he ventured back to the bedroom that he shared with his brothers. Theodore was resting on his bed, typing away on his laptop. He grabbed a book from his bookcase and flopped down on his own bed. Hopefully, some reading would help him escape from the perverted thoughts in his head. Thankfully, reading wasn't too difficult, even if with the constant clicking of the keys of Theodore's keyboard as he typed. Such a sound seemed to bring a smile to Simon's face, as he imagined himself one day holding one of Theodore's books in his hands, reading it. Good. He at least now had something else to think besides Alvin.

"Boys, dinnertime," Dave called.

Simon sighed in annoyance. So much for forgetting about Alvin. Now the two of them would be forced to face each other at dinnertime. Oh, well. If they didn't talk to each other, maybe that would make it all the more easier to avoid each other until their sudden feelings for each other changed. Resting the book aside, he followed Theodore downstairs to the kitchen. He wasn't surprised to see Alvin already seated at the kitchen table, his drink and plate resting in front of him. He went ahead and fixed his own drink while Dave fixed their plates, followed by his own.

"So" Dave said, sitting down, "how's the play going, Theodore?"

Theodore nodded his head as he ate a forkful of mashed potatoes. "Good. Good so far. We're still holding auditions. The art class is getting started on designs for sets."

"Since you're directing," Simon said, "you get final say on everything, right?"

"Yeah," Theodore replied. He took a drink of his soda. He gave his brothers a queer look. "Are you guys sure you don't know anybody who could play the role of Abby?"

Alvin nodded. "Yes, I'm sure. Like I said, all of the girls that I know are in clubs and wouldn't be able to help out. You could probably try looking for possible actresses in the drama club. I don't know why you're asking any one of us. You should probably be asking either Mr. Bidwell or Miss Carter. They probably have far more experience with who would be good for the part."

"I suppose you're right, Alvin," Theodore agreed. "It's just, you know so many girls, I was sure that there was bound to be one that you'd know would be good for the part."

"Sorry, Theodore," Alvin apologized. He stabbed at a slab of steak and popped it in his mouth. "Don't stress about it too much. You've got plenty of time before the play is set to premiere."

"That's true, I guess," Theodore stated.

Dave gave Simon a puzzled look. "Simon, you're pretty quiet tonight. Is something bothering you?"

Simon looked up at him and nodded. "Yeah, could you and me change seats? Sitting beside Alvin is making me uncomfortable?"

Dave raised an eyebrow. "Since when are you two not comfortable sitting next to each other?"

"Dave, please," Simon groaned.

"All right," Dave agreed, sighing.

Simon wasn't too sure, but he thought he heard Alvin give a sigh of relief once he got up to sit in Dave's seat. Perhaps Alvin was going through the same problems as him, but, for whatever reason, he doubted it. Nonetheless, he seemed to be a lot more comfortable in Dave's seat than sitting next to Alvin. He was able to eat comfortably without feeling his body shiver any time his body made contact with Alvin's.

After dinner, it was time for bed. It was a good thing that the boys usually did their homework as soon as they got home from school (Alvin with a little more prompting than the others). Because of this, they were able to get in bed at a decent hour.

While changing into his pajamas, Alvin noticed that Simon staring at him. "What are you staring at?" he queried, giving his younger brother an odd look.

"Nothing, nothing," Simon replied, quickly looking away, doing anything he could to avoid making eye contact with Alvin. He nervously fiddled with the buttons on his nightshirt, clumsily buttoning them up before climbing into bed.

Alvin sighed as he too crawled into bed. "Whatever you say, Simon." He rolled over onto his side and dug a hand underneath his pillow.

Simon continued to stare at Alvin in the darkness for a moment or two. Eventually, he fell asleep.

Simon couldn't believe his luck. He was able to get a session with the school counselor at eleven thirty. Of course, this would mean that he would be excused from class. It was just a good thing that the class that he was being excused from was gym. He hadn't brought his change of clothes anyway. He raised an eyebrow when he saw Alvin walking down the hall, probably heading towards the same destination. "Alvin?"

Said chipmunk, having his head hung, looked up to notice his younger brother. He blinked. "Simon? What are you doing here?"

Simon motioned towards the door that led to the school counselor. "I have an appointment with the counselor." He gave his older brother a confused look. "What are you doing here?"

"I have an appointment with her too, only mine's at twelve fifteen. I figured I'd come down here early so I could get out of gym."

Simon rolled his eyes. "You'll have to wait outside. You know that, right?"

"Yes, Simon, I am aware of that, thank you. Don't worry." He reached inside his backpack and pulled out an issue of _The Amazing Spider-Man_. "I brought something to read."

Simon chuckled. "After you."

Without arguing, Alvin made his way into the room. Simon followed him and went ahead to the counselor's office. Meanwhile, Alvin sat outside, reading his comic. However, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't help but let curiosity get the best of him. He wondered what Simon was talking about with the counselor. Though he knew it wasn't any of his business, he couldn't resist the urge to pry. He looked up at the secretary. She was busy talking on the phone, paying him no mind. With no one to stop him, he set his comic aside and placed his ear on the door, trying his best to overhear what Simon was discussing with his therapist.

Inside the office, Simon nervously fiddled with his hands. He could feel himself growing hot. His body shook while sweat coated his palms. He wrung his hands in a futile attempt to get them dry, but it was nonetheless. He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on his breathing. Deep, steady breaths. Deep, steady breaths. Maybe by concentrating on his breathing, he would be able to calm himself down. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe he was thinking too hard about the whole situation with Alvin. It had only been a kiss, after all.

"Simon?"

The blue-clad chipmunk opened his eyes and observed the brown-haired woman staring back at him, hands folded on top of her desk. Placed at the front of her desk lay her name: Jennifer Murphy. He began to breathe more steadily now. Hopefully, he was beginning to calm down.

"Is everything all right?" Jennifer asked.

Simon thought about what he wanted to say next. He wasn't entirely sure how to go about explaining his problem to her. He inhaled, then finally spoke. "Have you dealt with kids who have been having problems with their sexuality?"

Jennifer nodded. "Of course. That's a common problem with teenagers. Why do you ask? Are you having problems with your sexual identity?"

Simon slowly nodded. "I think so. See, I always thought that I was straight, but recently, I've been having doubts. I recently shared a kiss with another guy. It was just a practice kiss for this play that we were rehearsing for, but . . . I don't know. There was this spark that I felt. Maybe he felt it too, I don't know. I would like to do it again, just to see if I'm not crazy, but I don't know if he'd be willing to do it with me again too."

"Hmm," Jennifer pondered. "Tell me, Simon, do you find yourself being sexually attracted to this other guy?"

Simon said nothing, but swallowed hard.

"Do you find yourself having sexual fantasies about this guy?"

"No," Simon replied.

"Yet, you said that you would like to kiss him again, didn't you?"

"Yes, if only to find out if I'm gay or not."

"Have you talked to a parental figure about this, like a mother or a father?"

"No." He blushed. "I'm kind of embarrassed." He rubbed his neck and looked down at his shoes.

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about, Simon. It's perfectly normal. It doesn't change who you are. You're just attracted to the same sex. It doesn't mean anything." She paused for a moment, then added, "Do you currently have a partner, Simon?"

Simon looked up at her. "You mean, like a girlfriend?"

"Of course."

"Yes, I do."

"Have you talked to her about this?"

"No. We're both currently busy working on projects for school."

"You have to find a time that's convenient for both of you to talk about these kinds of things. I think that as long as she's not overly religious, she'll be more than accepting of your sexuality. The same goes for your father. You really need to talk about this with your father. It's not going to do anyone any good remaining silent about it."

"I don't know. I've heard some horror stories about some gay people being disowned by their family and friends."

Jennifer nodded sympathetically. "I understand that it can be frightening to come out to family and friends, especially when those kinds of stories are circulating around the news. Don't worry. Have faith. Your family and friends will eventually come to accept it. In the meantime, you can find safety and comfort within the gay community."

Simon sighed and looked down at his hands, fiddling with his fingers. "I suppose you're right."

"I would also advise you to talk to your current crush as well. It's important that he knows how you feel about it."

Simon chuckled softly. "That may be easier said than done."

"If nothing else, then the two of you can remain friends."

Simon nodded and scooped up his backpack, slinging one of the straps over his shoulder. "Thanks for the talk."

Jennifer smiled. "Anytime, Simon. Anytime. I'm always hear to listen."

Turning, Simon opened the door and stepped outside. Alvin was nowhere to be found. He looked around, puzzled. "Alvin?"

Alvin breathed heavily, his back pressed against the wall. He hugged his legs, his knees drawn up to his chest. He shook his head. It couldn't be true, could it? Simon couldn't honestly have a crush on him, could he? And how had Simon developed a crush on him so quickly, after only one innocent kiss? It didn't make any sense to him. Sure, he'd developed crushes on various girls throughout the years, but it hadn't developed crushes on them after only knowing them for one day. What was he supposed to do? Surely Simon was going to want to talk to him about his feelings for him. How was he supposed to handle a conversation like that?

He sighed. He grabbed his backpack and stood up before heading down the hallway. He looked up at the clock. It was only a quarter to twelve. He still had a good thirty minutes to himself before his session with the counselor. What was he supposed to do until then? If he was lucky, he wouldn't run into Simon. He supposed that he could always go to the library to kill time, surf the Internet on the computer, but he didn't want to get caught in the library. Only nerds, geeks, and losers hung out in there. He was one of the cool kids. He had a reputation to protect. He'd worked hard to earn the reputation that he currently had. He didn't want to ruin it by getting caught doing something as humiliating as studying. Then again, everybody was currently in class, so the chances of him getting caught studying in the library wasn't likely to happen.

He entered the library a few minutes later. He walked up to the librarian, grabbed a card that would assign him to a specific computer, then had the librarian sign him into a computer. He waited until she was gone, then proceeded to Google the inquiry, "I think I might be gay. What do I do?" He scanned through the lists of links and articles before finally stumbling onto one that suited his fancy. He stopped when he heard the door to the library close. Turning, he watched as Simon walked in and grabbed a card to get a computer. Great. What was Simon doing here? He should have been in class, not here. He slouched in his chair, hoping that Simon wouldn't see him. He breathed a sigh of relief when Simon walked past him, as if his younger brother hadn't noticed him. Good. He sat up and continued to read the article that he was currently reading.

Sadly, the article informed him that there was no easy answer to the question, "How do I know if I'm gay?" According to the article, it was something that he would have to figure out on his own. Great. That didn't exactly help him out, not in the slightest. However, the article did state that one's sexuality could change over time, and it advised him that he didn't have to come to a decision, only that he had to do what felt right at the time. Just like Jennifer Murphy had done with Simon, the article advised him to talk to people his own age about his sexuality. If he didn't know anyone his own age, he could easily go on social networking sites online to talk to other people who were struggling with their sexual orientation. There were even therapists on these sites who he could talk to twenty-four hours a day. He felt somewhat better reading this information, but not by much.

He was distracted when he saw Simon get up and walk off. He supposed that his younger brother was off to fetch a book that he'd been looking for on the computer. He turned back to his own computer, wondering what to do next. He supposed that the best thing to do was to follow the article's advice and check out the social networking sites that it listed at the bottom of the article. He clicked on one that looked promising. Unfortunately, he had to become a member of the site before he could start asking questions and talking to the therapists and other members.

Meanwhile, Simon looked over the books that he had chosen and went up to the librarian. He looked around nervously, fearful that someone would see him.

"Due back two weeks from now," Ms. Napier said, handing him his books.

"Th-Thank you," Simon replied, hastily stuffing the books in his backpack and walking out of the library.

Alvin checked the time on the computer to realize that it was almost a quarter past twelve. He had a good five minutes to get to the counselor's office, but was he really comfortable talking to the school counselor about his sexual identity crisis? What if she called Dave and talked to him about it? Would she really do that? Again, the question of counselor-student confidentiality came into his head. Did counselors break the confidentiality rule if there was a threat of danger on the students' part, like if the student was planning on killing themselves and only confided in the counselor about it? Of course they did. But did they break it when a student came out of the closet? Surely they wouldn't, as it would be extremely embarrassing not only to the student, but to the parent as well. He'd read stories of parents being so ashamed of their gay son or daughter that the parents disowned them. He had no reason to fear Dave disowning him if he came out to his father. Dave wasn't like that. Dave loved them no matter what. Hell, if Dave loved both and Simon despite their lack of belief in a God, surely he would still love them if they were gay, right? Of course he would.

However, this reassurance did little to help him figure out exactly how he was going to come out to his surrogate father? He recalled the time when Simon had come out to the family as an atheist. Dave seemed to have taken it well, a lot better than Theodore, who, naturally, was a devout Christian. Recalling this made Alvin feel a little better. He wondered which was a lot harder to do: coming out as a homosexual or coming out as an atheist? He figured that both were quite hard on parents who were really religious. Thankfully, his family, save for Theodore, wasn't very religious at all, so that factor didn't play against him. He struggled to figure out how to go about it. He wasn't about to blurt it out over dinner; such an action was inappropriate, and he preferred to do it when he and Dave were alone.

He grabbed his things and started walking to the counselor's office. He supposed that he might as well at least give talking to the counselor a try. Maybe she could help him answer some of the puzzling questions that were buzzing around in his head. She seemed to have been able to help Simon.

"Oh, Alvin, there you are," Jennifer said as the red-clad chipmunk walked in her office and sat down. "I was wondering when you were going to show up."

Alvin set his backpack by the chair and folded his hands on his lap. He looked around at the various degrees and pictures that hung on the walls. He swallowed.

"So," Jennifer continued, "what can I help you with today?"

Once again, Alvin struggled with how to word his confession. He figured he might as well just come out and say it. "I think I might be gay."

"Ah, I spoke with your brother about that very same issue just a while ago."

He feigned surprise. "Really?" He raised an eyebrow. "And what did you tell him?"

"I told him that he should talk to other people about it. That's really all you can do, really. But if you really think you are gay, then I suggest experimenting with other boys. I don't mean having sex with them, but try dating them and see if you feel any connection with them."

"Hmm . . ." Alvin pondered her suggestion in his head.

"Do you have anyone in mind?"

"Yes, I do, but I'd rather not say." He couldn't bear to imagine what she would say or do if she told him that his secret crush was his younger brother.

"Fine. I would suggest that you talk to your father about this, as well as anyone else in your family. I've met him at the open house. Very nice man. He seems to be very reasonable, so I don't think he'll have too much of a problem with you being gay. Though, your little brother, Theodore, may have a problem with it."

He grinned. "Yes, he and Simon have butted heads when it comes to different beliefs."

"I imagine, with Simon being an atheist and Theodore being a Christian."

"They've compromised."

"Ah, good. Anything else on your mind?"

He hesitated in telling her who his crush was. If he was afraid of how she would react, he couldn't begin to imagine how Dave was going to react to the news that he was in love with his younger brother. He supposed that he could always use a hypothetical example. "Ms. Murphy, how do you feel about incest?"

"I don't have a problem with it as long as it's consensual."

"So, let's say two brothers, like two rabbit brothers, were in love with each other and practiced sex acts on each other, would you be comfortable with it as long as both of them liked it?"

She nodded. "Of course. Why do you ask?"

He swallowed. "N-No reason. I think I should get going now. Thanks for the time."

She smiled. "Anytime you need an ear, Alvin, I'm here."

"Thanks again. I'll remember that." He grabbed his backpack and headed out the door.

Alvin stood outside the bedroom that he shared with his brothers, peeking through the keyhole. He watched as Simon was busy folding laundry and putting it away. He hoped Simon didn't see him.

"I know you're there, Alvin," Simon said, "so you might as well go ahead and come in."

Alvin sighed dejectedly. So much for that plan. He entered the bedroom and gently shut the door.

"What do you want?" Simon didn't bother looking at his older brother. He neatly folded a blue sweater and put it down on his bed.

"Uh . . ." Alvin rubbed his neck, his other hand stuffed in the pocket of his sweater. He looked around the room, wondering how he should word what he wanted to say. "I think . . . I think you and I should talk." He gestured to his bed.

Simon finally turned and stared at Alvin for a moment or two before simply nodding his head and agreeing. He sat down on Alvin's bed and patted the spot next to him. "Well, sit down."

Alvin awkwardly walked across the room and sat down. "Simon, do you think . . . do you think the kissing scene the other day went okay?"

Simon nodded. "Yeah, I was wondering about that myself," he admitted. "I don't know, it just didn't feel right to me."

"Do you think . . . we should try it again, just to make sure we do it right?"

"Hmm, that's not a bad idea. Maybe we should do it over again."

"Oh, um, okay. Should we rehearse our lines or should we just–"

"Oh, just shut up and kiss me!"

Without warning, Alvin soon found his lips forcibly pressed against Simon's. He fought for a moment or two before finally succumbing to the feelings that had been sparked inside him. He pressed himself deeper into the kiss, gently caressing the back of Simon's head as he gingerly slithered his tongue into Simon's mouth, the latter willingly opening his mouth to offer his older brother access. Before he realized it, Alvin felt Simon's own tongue sliding into his own mouth. His insides were coated with a warm feeling, the inside of his mouth overtaken by an intense heat and wetness that seemed to accompany Simon's exploring tongue.

Eventually, the two pulled away. They stared at each other for a moment or two before gleefully attacking each other yet again.


End file.
